WHANGĀREI

Where Bounty began

Whangārei, in Northland on New Zealand's North Island, was the birthplace of the 1978 Bounty replica.

The ship was built by Whangarei Engineering & Construction Ltd. (WECO), a major New Zealand shipbuilder of the period, for a film project associated with Dino De Laurentiis and director David Lean.

The replica was launched at Whangārei on 16 December 1978. The shipyard and the town therefore form the starting point of her story the place where the plans, the skills and the work of many people came together to create the vessel.

This is where we begin our journey into the New Zealand story of Bounty.